In 1997 in North Carolina, 70 children were arrested on murder charges:
35 were 17 years old, 24 were 16 years old, 7 were 15 years old, and 4
were 13 or 14 years old. In addition, 2,317 were arrested for aggravated
assault.

In 1998 in North Carolina, 53 children were arrested on murder charges:
26 were 17 years old, 18 were 16 years old, 8 were 15 years old, and 1 was
13 or 14 years old. In addition, 2,151 were arrested for aggravated
assault.

Youth violence is spreading across America. As a society, we have
become numb to the senseless anonymous violence in the impoverished urban
war zones of the big cities of the North. But beginning in 1997, lethal
violence began to invade the heartland of the country from Fayetteville,
NC to Columbine, CO. These killings seemed particularly senseless. People
want to know why this is happening, and how to prevent it...

The North Carolina Medical Society Alliance

presents

On Friday, November 10, 2000 (1:30pm-4:30pm at the Grandover Resort and Conference Center in
Greensboro, NC) the North Carolina Medical Society Alliance
will sponsor "What Boys Need", a three hour symposium featuring
nationally recognized leaders in the area of boys at risk. The symposium will
begin at 1:30 pm and last until 4:30 pm. The cost is $25 for teachers or
educators, $40 for Alliance members or others. If you desire CME credits,
please add $10. We hope to educate our audience, which will include North
Carolina physicians, their spouses, and representatives from law enforcement,
education, houses of faith, along with others involved in attempting to meet the
needs of our children who can be identified as being truly "in trouble."

We are extremely proud to announce that one of our featured
presenters will be James Garbarino, Ph.D., director of the Just
For Kids! program. He is an internationally recognized expert in child abuse
issues, with special expertise in psychological maltreatment. He is the author
or editor of sixteen books and has been honored by groups such as the American
Psychological Association, the American Humane Association, and the American
Academy of Pediatrics for his work on behalf of abused and neglected children.
In addition to authoring The Psychologically Battered Child, Dr.
Garbarino has written a booklet on emotional abuse distributed by the National
Committee to Prevent Child Abuse, and has co-authored Assault on the Psyche, a
video program that examines psychological maltreatment.

Dr. Garabino's most recent book is entitled, "Lost Boys:Why Our Sons
Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them" in which Dr. Garbarino attempts
to help parents truly understand youth violence and how to stop it before it
explodes. Dr. Garbarino reveals how to identify children who are at risk and
offers proven methods to prevent aggressive behavior.

Dr. Garbarino has committed to presenting at this important symposium, which
will follow-up on "Violence
in the Media: Teaching Our Children to Kill", which was presented in
November, 1999. The North Carolina Medical Society Alliance is committed to
educating parents, grandparents, law enforcement agencies, social service
agencies, educators, physicians, and most of all, ourselves about the health
dangers of exposure to violence in all forms of media.

We are also pleased to announce that our other featured presenter is
Daniel J. Kindlon, co-author of Raising Cain: Protecting the
Emotional Life of Boys. Dr. Kindlon is a clinical and research
psychologist specializing in the behavioral problems of children and
adolescents. He holds joint assistant professorships in the Psychiatry
Department of the Harvard Medical School and the Department of Maternal and
Child Health at the Harvard School of Public Health, where he is engaged in
teaching and research.

Dr. Kindlon has been in clinical practice for the past fourteen years
focusing on the diagnosis and treatment of emotional problems, learning
disabilities and attention deficit disorders. For the past twelve years he has
also been the psychological consultant to an independent school in Boston for
boys in grades 7-12.

With Michael Thompson,
Ph.D., Dr. Kindlon is coauthor of Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional
Life of Boys. Drawing on their combined 35 years' experience working with boys
and their families, the authors explore how our culture socializes and
miseducates boys to disregard their emotional lives.

Kindlon and Thompson believe that boys suffer from a narrow definition of
masculinity imposed on them by our culture which leaves them emotionally
resourceless as men. They argue that emotional literacy is the most valuable
gift we can offer our sons - a life raft that's within every boy's reach - and
that boys have as much aptitude as girls for the emotional skills they need to
build and sustain friendships, to feel connected rather than cut off, to love
and feel loved.

TheAMA
Allianceis dedicated to Stop America's Violence Everywhere with
its SAVE Program, which this year is focusing on school violence.

TheCenter for
Media LiteracyLiteracy is a Los Angeles-based national advocacy
organization that distributes educational materials and develops training
programs for promoting critical thinking about the media in school classrooms,
after school programs, parent education, religious and community centers, and
in the home.

TheNorth Carolina PTAis a well-known, long-standing child advocacy group that has
been a strong partner in the fight against media violence.